I'm hoping we get a more non-linear region.

[Gigadweeb]

I think my least favourite part about Gen 6 is that there was very little proper exploration or backtracking; the region was essentially a circle, for god's sakes. I want something more similar to Hoenn or Kanto where we're blocked off from parts of an area we explore, or entire routes that we passed by, until we get access to Surf or something similar. More puzzle-eque legendaries too, like the Regi trio.

I don't know. I think it's because I love finding all the secrets, nooks and crannies within games, and I think it's part of the reason why I love Dark Souls 1 and Fallout: New Vegas so much.

 

[Hikamaru]

I don't really find Kalos that linear, because if you ask most people they would have said B/W Unova was the most linear region, and I feel this was likely Game Freak's attempt to make things easier for kids. They did change up the direction a bit with Unova in B2/W2 so I can take the credit there.

But not counting the changes to Unova in B2/W2, the last true non-linear region was Sinnoh and that was because we had to backtrack due to the Gym order (Platinum did rearrange three of the Gyms so they were a bit more linear) and Hoenn had some good amounts of backtracking as well.

I can understand why veterans mainly want a region that sends you all over the place, but I feel the set direction was likely made with the target audience in mind so I wouldn't be surprised if the 7th Gen region was linear, but maybe they might change it up a bit.

5th Gen was the start of a lot of changes that veterans seem to bash on, such as linear storylines, Gym Leaders using only three Pokemon (two for the first and second Gyms) and Elite Four members using four Pokemon while also able to be battled in any order with no increasing level. It was also when a lot of important NPCs became jokes to defeat that many say it's not rewarding, and to me the "dumbing down" of these is mainly due to once again, the children that make up Pokemon's target audience and that's usually what Game Freak put first, while putting older players on the backburner.

 

[Gigadweeb]

I don't really find Kalos that linear, because if you ask most people they would have said B/W Unova was the most linear region, and I feel this was likely Game Freak's attempt to make things easier for kids. They did change up the direction a bit with Unova in B2/W2 so I can take the credit there.

But not counting the changes to Unova in B2/W2, the last true non-linear region was Sinnoh and that was because we had to backtrack due to the Gym order (Platinum did rearrange three of the Gyms so they were a bit more linear) and Hoenn had some good amounts of backtracking as well.

I can understand why veterans mainly want a region that sends you all over the place, but I feel the set direction was likely made with the target audience in mind so I wouldn't be surprised if the 7th Gen region was linear, but maybe they might change it up a bit.

5th Gen was the start of a lot of changes that veterans seem to bash on, such as linear storylines, Gym Leaders using only three Pokemon (two for the first and second Gyms) and Elite Four members using four Pokemon while also able to be battled in any order with no increasing level. It was also when a lot of important NPCs became jokes to defeat that many say it's not rewarding, and to me the "dumbing down" of these is mainly due to once again, the children that make up Pokemon's target audience and that's usually what Game Freak put first, while putting older players on the backburner.

And I think that's why they should have kept Challenge Mode, instead of making it a one-off. I only ever had a Pokémon faint once in X/Y, and that was in Diantha's battle. I understand it being a bit easier for kids, but they're not as big as dumbshits as Game Freak makes them out to be.

 

[Ho-Oh]

I actually agree. I looove a huge region, like it enhances the games so much. One of my favourite memories as a kid was finding that hidden water Pokemon trainer area just before Goldenrod City in Gold. That's the stuff. I know it's not entirely related to that but I do want more that we can explore later on. Show us a world we can aim for, and we'll fight for it. So yeah, all for that type of region in these games. :')

 

[TheLegendaryGuy]

It would be superb if GF tried to make the game not 'for kid's but add some level of difficulty. And yeah, even I felt that hoenn's design was much better than Kalos.

 

[DataFile]

I just want a region like Kanto in the sense that you can choose what gym you want to
tackle, having everything in a pre-set path is not as fun as choosing.

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

I just want a region like Kanto in the sense that you can choose what gym you want to
tackle, having everything in a pre-set path is not as fun as choosing.

Isn't that one of the reasons how flawed the original Gen 1 game's design were? It's funny how people complain about backtracking in other games and list as one of their top 10 most annoying things in video games, yet they complain about linearity in the recent Pokémon games, when they should be thankful for making backtracking less tedious.

 

[Hikamaru]

Isn't that one of the reasons how flawed the original Gen 1 game's design were? It's funny how people complain about backtracking in other games and list as one of their top 10 most annoying things in video games, yet they complain about linearity in the recent Pokémon games, when they should be thankful for making backtracking less tedious.

I find complete irony with it like you mentioned there, because I tend to despise backtracking when it comes to games. People here think the linearity in Pokemon as of late is stupid but I believe there was a likely reason behind it, as well as all the other stuff people have been complaining about in 5th and 6th Gen. I think it's because these seasoned veterans want more of an actual adventure, and that's presumably why they like a region that makes you backtrack.

 

[PkmnTrainerElio]

I'd love a region where you can backtrack. It makes the games longer and better, I mean, in R/S/E just as you were hoping to ascend Mt Chimney, bam, Team Magma/Aqua are in the way and you are forced to take the scenic route to get an item before actually ascending the mountain. And I agree with Forever, I loved finding those hidden trainers.

 

[OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire]

I don't mind backtracking. I kind of enjoyed it in all the regions where we had to do so. One of my favorite parts of BW was going back to the desert for the Black Stone.

 

[Hikamaru]

Looking at the post right above, I guess we all had backtracking in some format, even in the most linear regions, like the aforementioned going back for the Light/Dark Stone in B/W, and also X/Y has you backtrack to Lumiose City around the midway point of the game as well.

 

[Psywing]

Being a JRPG/dungeon crawler fan, I love exploration, backtracking and ruins filled with puzzles. So, I am all for it. But, as Hikamaru said, they changed the direction for a new generation, I won't be surprised if the new one is pretty linear, as well. Put in some hidden forests or areas that you need to use Cut or Surf to get too. Some hidden trainers, like someone already mentioned. Linearity is fine for the storyline and Gyms, but they could put in some extra areas with Pokemon you can't find elsewhere or something like that.

 

[LilBueno]

To me, it really depends on the kind of game I'm playing. The older Pokemon games, I loved exploring and moving on when I want to move on or how I want to move on. The newer ones, I preferred a semi-linearity with a bit of backtracking. XY did it perfectly with Lumiose City (going back to explore more of the city and using it to branch to other locations), but I would definitely like at least a reason to backtrack. I don't mind if I can't necessarily go where I want to go unless it's the next step in the game, but give me a reason to go back to other locations instead of going through each location once.
Other games, especially those that are more RPGish, I love exploring.
For Sun/Moon, though, I do want a non-linear region if it isn't more water than anything. Water routes aren't as exciting to explore (or navigate) as land routes. Now if they were to change them aesthetically for this gen, then yeah, definitely.

 

[Pepperton]

Agreed. Hoenn was the end all be all in terms of well designed regions, and it was fully fleshed out in ORAS, which convinced me of this fact even more. So far this region looks extremely promising, and based on other aspects it could very well end up knocking off Hoenn as my all time favorite, as long as it is more linear as the OP suggested.

 

[Gigadweeb]

Hmm. Looking at the new region, I'm not sure what to think. It looks a lot better than Kalos in terms of overall appearance, but we might get gated in retarded ways like B2/W2. Hmm. I'm really excited though, reminds me of Hoenn's geography, what with the recognisable volcano, lots of water, and a fair few islands. Hawaii was an interesting choice.

 

[Spinosaurus]

Pokemon has ALWAYS been linear. I don't think this is the right word, and I don't think the problem is the lack of backtracking. (Which just might be a good thing, honestly) It's a little more subtle than that.

The problem with recent games is that they typically hold your hand, are poorly paced and don't give you any incentive to explore or play the game at your own pace. You're always told exactly where to go.

Playing the gen 5 games right after Yellow really opened my eyes at how much recent games suffer when it comes to pacing. It really goes against a lot about what I like about the series, so I hope Sun/Moon improves on this aspect. I made a thread a while ago on why gen 1 still has the best pacing. (Even if it's a result of hardware limitations.)

 

[DataFile]

Isn't that one of the reasons how flawed the original Gen 1 game's design were? It's funny how people complain about backtracking in other games and list as one of their top 10 most annoying things in video games, yet they complain about linearity in the recent Pokémon games, when they should be thankful for making backtracking less tedious.

Backtracking isn't that big deal when you have quicktravel at your fingertips in a form of HM02.
Backtracking is painful in games such as Voya nui online game, where you run between about three locations for the duration of the entire game. Having locations be more than a pit stop on road from home to elite four is kinda important for the adventure feel.

Also Spinosaurus, I don't think that game where you can choose which "dungeon" to tackle is that linear in the grand scheme of things.

 

[janejane6178]

Pokemon has ALWAYS been linear. I don't think this is the right word, and I don't think the problem is the lack of backtracking. (Which just might be a good thing, honestly) It's a little more subtle than that.

The problem with recent games is that they typically hold your hand, are poorly paced and don't give you any incentive to explore or play the game at your own pace. You're always told exactly where to go.

Playing the gen 5 games right after Yellow really opened my eyes at how much recent games suffer when it comes to pacing. It really goes against a lot about what I like about the series, so I hope Sun/Moon improves on this aspect. I made a thread a while ago on why gen 1 still has the best pacing. (Even if it's a result of hardware limitations.)

Could u give some examples of how its pacing is better?

 

[Blastin'Tyruntz]

Seeing as Alola is based off of Hawaii, what could be is that every gym or couple of gyms (cities, towns, events) are located on a different island. That would make us move between them freely, like the last gym being located on the 1st island located, something along the lines of the last gym in gen I being in Viridian city. That would make both the story more interesting, pursuing the evil team(s?) along several islands, and the game itself, making it feel way better, like you're actually working your way to the league.

 

[Spinosaurus]

Also Spinosaurus, I don't think that game where you can choose which "dungeon" to tackle is that linear in the grand scheme of things.

To be honest, it's gonna end up being semantics. You're right, but the way the game was designed still makes it linear in nature. You can definitely do gyms out of order, but the game makes it so that doing everything in order is the likeliest possibility.

Could u give some examples of how its pacing is better?

One example is that once you reach a city or town with a gym you can immediately challenge it and move on. There's nothing interrupting you from doing that. The only exception is Sabrina's gym. In contrast, say, B/W1, you nearly always have to do some arbitrary quest before you get to challenge the gym, and as a result your quest comes to a halt briefly, and all that's good for is padding the game. The pacing suffers from this.